


A World Undesired

by Lunaru



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: AU where everything goes wrong, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I have no direction for this story, I'm Bad At Tagging, Spoilers for Late-Game, Swearing, Team Yell (Pokemon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-07
Updated: 2019-12-23
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:37:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21710158
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunaru/pseuds/Lunaru
Summary: This wasn't supposed to happen.So why did it?Eternatus and its powers were far underestimated, and Gloria wakes up only days after its onslaught was brought on. Upon her awakening, things were immediately off.Where was everyone?
Relationships: Beet | Bede/Yuuri | Gloria, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added
Comments: 12
Kudos: 84





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I have severe inspiration to write so I decided to throw this together and go along with it. Bear with me, this is my first- and probably worst- fic so far

_Why did it have to come to this? Only days prior to her match with Champion Leon, the one that would cement her history in the region, that damned chairman had to go and ruin it for her. He had it out for her and she knew it, that charismatic grin of his was_ too _charming._

_The sight of those oversized tubes shattering on the jumbotron and the camera shuddering before abruptly blacking out were the only hints of what was to come. That, and the massive spiraling vortex that towered over Hammerlocke. Leon made a break for it once ensuring his younger brother was alright, hopping on the back of his Charizard and taking off in the direction of the endangered city. Hop, meanwhile, had jumped the barrier separating the seating from the pitch, gaining ground effortlessly as he sprinted to Gloria._

_And so that’s how things started for her. Gloria knew she had to help, yet her mind was a whirlwind of confusion with the scramble of the audience rushing to leave the stadium. Only when Hop suggested they find the legendary heroes did her thoughts enter back in to orbit. With nothing short of agreement, she released her Flygon and hopped on to it._

_Slumbering Weald was creepy, even creepier in the darkened atmosphere of what could’ve only been referred to as the second coming of The Darkest Day. The churning storm over Hammerlocke engulfed the sky, but it was hungrier for more. It was only a matter of time before it took this whole region, however long that’d be. Gloria felt herself wavering close behind Hop, her hand held out close to her Flygon as it accompanied the two. When they first arrived at the weald, Gloria had considered putting the dragon back in its pokéball; only when the fog begun to roll in did she reconsider._

_The two of them stayed close by with every step they took, shuffling through the tall grass and giving any pokémon a wide berth. It was probably unnecessary for the first part of it, even the Skwovets seemed confused by their behavior. Yet even then, when the pokémon were barely harmful, Gloria felt beads of sweat begin to dot her forehead and plaster the inner layer of her hair to her head. The humidity of the fog and the time-sensitive situation the two of them were forced in to made her worry; not to mention the thickening of the fog the further they made it. It brought back dear memories of their first time in this forest, but this time they made it further._

_Yet something was off about this fog, and while Hop and herself had made it to a bridge, the mist ahead practically formed a solid barrier. Hop nabbed her hand, and this time she didn’t object to it, only watching her Flygon snarl at whatever was beyond the fog. Two red-rimmed pairs of yellow eyes blazed through the barrier, and then the very thing they were seeking slunk out. Zacian and Zamazenta met Hop and Gloria’s eyes with a fierce emotion that Gloria couldn’t decipher. With a melodic howl in unison from the both of the wolves, they turned tail and galloped back in to the fog. As Hop broke away to pursue them, the fog receded, revealing the path ahead of them, accompanied by a stream. He turned back to face his companion, the excitement that vibrated through his body was obvious. He exclaimed in his excitement that they’d found the two heroes, that he knew they’d be here. Gloria stunned by the implication that the two heroes of Galar had been slumbering beyond her front yard this whole time, but at this point she couldn’t deny it._

_Only then did Sonia rush forward, her hair frazzled for reasons unknown aside from the doomsday that awaited the region. Gloria remembered how panicked she seemed, and the relief that extinguished the terror in her eyes. The volley of questions she shot her and Hop made her head swim, but her best friend was quick to swoop in with his own answers, recounting to the professor's assistant their discovery within the weald. Sonia expressed her disbelief, firing down Hop’s hope by stating that what the two of them had seen were merely illusions. This statement only seemed to energize the boy even more. He tugged at the strap of Gloria’s bag and told her the two of them should keep going, before he ran ahead without any prior thought. After listening to Sonia’s remark about the young boy, Gloria ran after him too, dashing over the bridge and down the dirt pathway. Her Flygon trailed behind her, unease prickling through its skin._

_The fog died off and Gloria could’ve sworn she saw the sun, but she realized it was just the light of Hop’s Boltund illuminating the darkness. The electric canine whined, sniffing the surrounding area in a mixture of worry and confusion. She approached him from behind, finding him crouched down at a seemingly ancient alter. He sensed her presence and looked up, gesturing to the artifacts that laid at his feet. As she stepped beside him, she saw what he’d found. A rusted sword and a cracked shield were strewn across the alter. Gloria was skeptical that these artifacts would do them any good._

_How right she was._

_Even after voicing her concerns, she saw Hop had no intent on backing down from his idea. He insisted she take the sword, and after she refused, he grabbed her wrist and forced her hand open, placing the hilt of the weapon in her open palm. She might as well humor him, so she kept it in hand. Hop took the shield and suggested they race as means to lighten the mood. She obliged, and together they dashed from the weald, each putting on bursts of speed to see if they could outrace the other. In the end, Gloria slowed down to let Hop speed ahead._

_She strolled past the gates of the weald as Hop griped about her intentionally letting him win. She only smiled in response._

_They made it to Hammerlocke, where they were let in to the basement after the panicked league staff allowed them entry. When the elevator shuddered to a stop and opened, Hop was the first to run out, but he quickly halted. Gloria caught up and saw why._

_The powerplant was a wreck. A large sphere at the back end was completely busted open, with a purple glow pouring from it. Debris was strewn everywhere on the platform, and as she saw from Wyndon Stadium, the large cylindric tubes that filled the large interior of the basement were shattered, the power spilling from them hanging in the air. Any equipment that wasn’t destroyed was in bad shape, and Hop stood distressed, staring at the damage._

_Confronting Rose wasn’t as difficult as she expected, but his pokémon were problematic. Only when he sent out his Copperajah did Gloria smirk. She sent her Mudsdale out, and it was over in a matter of seconds after a fierce few High Horsepowers. The chairman stood defeated before her, and reluctantly let her continue to the roof, seemingly worried after releasing true hell upon the region._

_Once the pair were on the roof, Hop held his arm out to keep Gloria behind him. Even before the pair were on the very top of the building could they see what awaited them. A massive glowing beast was at the center of this storm, and so far, it had no intention of stopping. A familiar voice barked commands to his Charizard. Instantly Hop sprang in to action to assist Leon, and Gloria almost found humor in that, if not for the storm in front of them. She hurried up the steps and stopped beside her friend. In front of them, Leon gestured for the two to stay where they were. The beast was severely damaged and swayed with every roar._

_The champion shuffled through his bag and a hand came up with a pokéball. With a serious glint to his golden eyes, he chucked it at Eternatus. Despite how large and intimidating the doomsday creature was, it went in to the device with relative ease, and once again Leon gesture for them to stay back, an open palm held out behind him. Gloria could feel Hop’s muscles tense up beside her as they stood in anticipation._

_After a few seconds of suspense, the ball shook, and Leon’s gaze turned to his Charizard. The orange reptile understood and leapt to cover the two children behind the young adult. Only when Charizard’s wings splayed out to protect them did the ball burst open violently. A white explosion of energy erupted, rattling both the building and Gloria’s skull. She clenched her jaw to keep her teeth from clattering._

_Hop’s shrill cry was the only thing she could hear over the ringing of her ears. He ran despite Charizard’s attempts to block him off. He stood over Leon, who was out cold on the ground, and glared up at Eternatus, tears beginning to pinprick along his eyes. Gloria was quick to follow him, worried that he wouldn’t be capable of taking on the beast before them himself._

_Sending out her Inteleon, Gloria nodded for the tall amphibian to keep Eternatus distracted. She turned to Hop, who, despite having the blaze of fury glazed over his eyes, he had bent down to check on his brother. The fury in his eyes had masked his desperation, and if Gloria hadn’t been his best friend for almost a decade, she wouldn’t have been able to see through it. While he whispered urgently for Leon to get up, he kept an eye on the battle that was unleashing before them._

_It took a bit, and despite being fragile, Gloria’s Inteleon was able to take down the beast, and she felt hope spark in her body. The beast swayed more, unstable power radiating off its skeleton-like frame. Before she and Hop could celebrate, it was violently launched in to the air, sending a small shockwave off in to the sky and causing the vortex to grow more violent. Gloria’s eyes widened at the sight as it unfolded. Eternatus has grown larger, way larger, and it spiraled out from the eye of the storm to face the two that stood before it._

_Hop’s breath grew quicker as he stood up. He held Leon’s cape and dragged him to the edge of the roof, as far away from Eternatus as he could. Charizard slunk over and curled up on top of Leon protectively, watching anxiously. Hop tore away from the two to join Gloria, his heart pounding in his chest with every step he took closer to the beast that he was tasked with taking down._

_Gloria had just finished spritzing a full restore on her Inteleon. She straightened and pointed at Eternatus, shouting for her Inteleon to take it out with his strongest move, Snipe Shot. The amphibian mirrored the point, but the high velocity bullet of water sizzled out the moment it was shot. Hop yelped in disbelief at this, seeing his own Dubwool was practically glued to the ground. Gloria tensed, worry seeding in the pit of her stomach at this._

_Eternatus didn’t attack them though, it instead stood watching. The aura in the air was vacuumed in to the beast, and Gloria realized that they didn’t have many turns to spare before something happened. She shouted for another Snipe Shot, yet it still had no effect._

_This was bad, terribly bad. How would they take it down if they couldn’t even attack it? Gloria felt a hand creep up to her mouth, and she chewed on her nails out of a nervous habit. At first, seeing Eternatus being taken down had given her confidence that this would be easier than she expected, but now this, and the sight of Leon unconscious only a couple of yards away, instilled a despairing feeling in her. They weren’t Leon, the unbeatable champion who could take out a Dynamaxed pokémon in a few swipes, they were just two kids near the end of their gym challenge. Yet even then, it’s rare for somebody to make it this far in the challenge._

Why couldn’t Rose have just saved it for another day? _That was one of the only thoughts that crossed her mind._

_Before she could delve further in to her thoughts, Hop shook her out of them. There was a wild panic in his eyes, yet it was mingled with a small hope that maybe, just maybe, they could turn this around. He held up the cracked shield from earlier, and instantly Gloria got the message. Even though she still held her doubts that it’d work, she took out the sword and held it up, Hop mirroring her pose._

_The two artifacts began to glow and shudder, but as they did the cyan and magenta auras that emanated off them were sucked in to Eternatus, fueling its power further. Hop cried out in disbelief, lowering the shield._

_Gloria couldn’t believe it either, how the hell did that work? The beast just stole the lifeforce of these two artifacts and used it as its own. She took a step back as Eternatus glowed more and more. The air wavered with a sudden and unnatural warmth, and she peeled her eyes away from Eternatus to glance at Hop._

_He was violently shaking in his anger, the shield on the ground and miraculously still in one piece. The air was tense and devoid of any energy at all, except for that of Eternatus’. Gloria could practically taste how dry it was, but before she could say anything or warn Hop that something felt off, he charged at the massive beast. She cried out the same way he had when Leon went down, reaching out towards Hop as if she could stop him._

_Yet from her past experiences with him, she knew she couldn’t stop him._

_Within moments, a shrouding shockwave boomed out of Eternatus. It was unlike any Gloria had ever seen. The roof was filled with a blindingly white light, the same one that had exploded out of the pokéball earlier. The roof shook, the building shook, the entirety of Hammerlocke shook. Galar shook._

Galar shook. 

_The shockwave grew in power the further it went, absorbing all and any energy that stood in its path. Gloria was slammed by debris, and she toppled over from the force of the blast. Right before her head slammed on the ground and she blacked out for what she’d come to realize would be days, she screamed._

“Hop!”


	2. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gloria has been unconscious for three days, but she doesn't realize that.  
> So now she wonders how the entirety of Galar collapsed in a day.
> 
> But before that, she has to tend to herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yikes I had no time to work on this  
> I'll be able to over these next two weeks though

And so that was that. The shockwave spread through the region, absorbing any energy of any sort, dynamax auras, electricity, some forms of magic too. Almost instantly, the entirety of Galar was without power. Whether it'd remain that way was unknown. Numerous people were killed from the blast, some unable to handle the sheer strength of the energy that ran through their veins, and many from the destruction of homes and buildings. Pokémon grew crazed from the sudden influx and wane, a few of the human population that did survive would end up being brought down by the local wildlife after trying to seek shelter. 

Any form of organization unraveled beneath the sudden bringing about of anarchy, and while some chose to fend for themselves with their pokémon, others sought a more violent and meanspirited way of life. 

Three days after it all began, Gloria awoke to a light gray overcast. _It’s over?_ She thought, unaware of the severe pain she was in until now. It shot up through her legs and coursed through her arms. Her head throbbed with a pulsating pain, and she could barely move. She grunted and tried to sit up, only to realize that it wasn’t weakness keeping her down, but rather debris. Parts of the roof’s wall, or just about most of it, had been violently ripped off and thrown around. Somehow, she was the receiver of quite a bit of it. 

Gloria reached up with a free hand and shoved some of the concrete from her legs, her arm shaking with strain as some of the rubble fell off with ease. The rest of it, not so much. She writhed underneath it, pain shooting up her body with every movement. Eventually another slab fell away, and she could move her legs. Brushing aside the pieces that had ended up on her chest, she sat up to assess the damage. Once she did, she saw the full story to it. For one thing, a large wedge of concrete was stuck in her thigh, and another in her shoulder. “Bollocks,” she swore under her breath, using an arm to prop up her head before it could fall back to the ground. 

Ridding of any rubble that kept her pinned to the ground, she got to her knees with great effort. She could barely move her lower right leg; it stung badly, and the shrapnel was rather embedded, tinted maroon where it connected to her leg. 

Oh right, the bleeding. 

While it was beyond painful to be somewhat impaled, at least it stopped the bleeding. Gloria scooted to the edge of the roof, propping her arms on the bannister. She took in gulps of air, her limbs burning and aching. Gloria felt for her bag and let out a shaky sigh of relief when she felt it still at her side. She fumbled around in it, but as she did, she felt her heart sank. Pulling her hand out, she confirmed her suspicions. A couple of her team’s pokéballs had been crushed in the onslaught, bringing her down to only four team members. She knew full and well that she was able to catch more, yet there was a sharp ache to seeing two of her longtime teammates gone to a cruel fate pull at her heartstrings. 

Opening the devices would be dangerous, they already radiated an unstable energy from sustaining such critical damage. Gloria wanted to assess the damage, but she knew it’d be dangerous to do that while in such a state like this. She released one of the pokémon she knew was alright, her Flygon. The dragon took a hot second to take in his surroundings with horror, before whirling around to face his trainer. He bent down to sniff at her, nostrils flaring worriedly. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” Gloria breathed, gasping in pain when she reached up to stroke the head of her Flygon. She retracted the arm and shifted her weight so that she leaned on her good arm. 

The dragon didn’t look even half convinced. 

His trainer was collapsed against the barrier, barely capable of sitting up without supporting herself. Yet she persisted, speaking up once more, “We need to-… we need to find Hop.” 

With a sharp snarl of defiance, he hopped closer, craning his neck and sliding it between the barrier and Gloria. He had no intention of not getting her somewhere safe, and while he was usually meant to follow her orders, this would be an exception. He shoved her away from the barrier and used himself to support her, shifting her with a few nudges of his wing and leg to get her to climb on to his back. It wasn’t easy when his haul was practically dead weight, but eventually Gloria obliged. 

While the Flygon spread his wings and took off in to the air, his trainer clung to him like her life depended on it, and it did. Her arms were gravely wrapped around his neck, and her legs pressed in to his flanks. While the dragon did not mind this, seeing the condition she was in, it was still uncomfortable feeling the heels of her boots digging in to his ribcage. The Flygon began to descend, air streamlining over his sleek and aerodynamic head and pushing him downward. 

Gloria was able to see the full extent of the damage that Eternatus had left on the region from here. Entire cities were leveled, in fact, Hammerlocke itself looked like a hurricane had ravaged it. Buildings were disheveled with walls completely stripped off. Interiors became exteriors, and broken glass was _everywhere_. Yet something seemed a bit off the more Gloria scanned her surroundings. As her gaze traveled over Motostoke, a once bustling city that was now deserted, she could see one of the pokécenters. Except apart from how it was with some of the other buildings, this pokécenter had been ransacked. Destroyed potions, crushed revives, you name it. Whoever had been through it had either sought to destroy its contents or was in a hurry to gather what they could. Either way, it sent chills down her spine. 

The routes didn’t look any better. Once green grass was now a sickly chartreuse, some patches entirely dead. The Wild Area was the same, the only signs of any healthy grass were the thin rings around the bodies of water. Gloria couldn’t see any pokémon from here, so it was hard to tell whether any had survived the shockwave. If they did, only Arceus knows how they’d receive her when she inevitably stays in the Wild Area. 

It was a horrific sight to take in, and Gloria could tell that it’d be a much more horrific experience to survive in. 

Her Flygon landed in the upper streets of Motostoke. He cautiously crawled along the sidewalk, keeping himself low to the ground while he searched for somewhere to set Gloria down. He stepped around glass, kicking away larger slabs of the cold clear material. Anywhere out in the open was dangerous, with the sheer amount of glass and rubble that scattered the streets. There was also a silent dread that the dragon could sense, and he didn’t like it. 

Eventually he ducked in to an alleyway not too far from one of the pokécenters, where he took refuge behind an overturned dumpster. He laid Gloria down and scampered off to find medical supplies, if any still existed. He knew nothing about what the humans would use to treat themselves, he always thought they did the same thing to themselves that they did to their pokémon. He walked in to the pokécenter and was immediately hit by something. 

The stench. An overwhelming wall of the odor struck the moment he entered the ruins of the building. It emanated from behind each counter, and the Flygon had barely any intention of peering behind them. 

Instead, he held his head close to the ground, picking up trace scents of anything he might need. The citrusy scent of potions allured to him, and he moved towards the pokémart built in to the center. With a grimace, the dragon realized he would indeed have to go behind the counter to get anything beyond fragments of potion bottles and dust of revives. He clambered over the sleek polished top and halted. While fainted pokémon was one thing to see, a dead body was another. He hopped down, only a foot away from the body of the shopkeeper. With one of his hindlegs he kicked a splayed arm away, before getting back to work. 

_Hop... where is Hop..._ Gloria thought, her thoughts hazy while her back was pressed against one wall of the alley. Guilt swam in her chest each time her focus was taken back to the last time she saw Hop, and that she was incapable of getting to him upon waking up. Even though she was in no shape fit to find him while she was still on the roof, there was still a nagging feeling that something could’ve been done. 

It was scary. Scary how something like this had happened while she was out. How an entire region could be reduced to ruin. She reached for her bag, only to find it just out of reach from where she sat. _Drat, of course. He must’ve removed it when he set me down._ Gloria realized, sitting up despite the immediate sting that shot up her leg. She leaned forward and snagged it by the strap, feeling the aged leather between her fingers. 

The bag was her mother’s. She never had the heart to swap it out for another one, implying that she even wanted to. It smells like home. 

_It smells like home._

She didn’t expect to leave home one day to never return. Those homecooked meals of her mother’s, she never expected to have her last one right before she set out to become champion. 

Yet all her dreams to become champion were down the drain now. Whether any of her friends were still alive, her only mission for right now would be to survive and find them. _Find Hop._

She dug through her bag until she felt her Rotom phone, but as she pulled it out her heart sank. “Oh no no no... How could it-...” She stared wide-eyed and forlorn at the blackened screen. It was cracked, the spiderweb patterning covering the entire screen, and the device itself was bent at an abnormal angle. There went her only communication to the outside world, to her friends, to her home. She was truly isolated unless she found someone she knew, _if_ anyone she knew were alive. Without stopping to think, she felt rage bubble in her stomach as she hurled the Rotom phone towards the other end of the alley. It slammed against the brick wall with a _crunch_ , glass chipping off and scattering away from the area, and a surge of plasma erupting out of the device and dissipating, the red hue of the phone fading. The noise wasn’t too loud, but with a jolt Gloria realized if anything was lurking nearby, she could’ve just given herself away. Yet upon huddling closer against the wall, she heard no other sounds apart from her own beating heart. With a relieved breath, her thoughts returned. _So, with the phone out of question, how would I find anyone I know without actively searching for them?_ It was too dangerous for her to be thinking about things like that. From the barren cities and dead flora, she saw while riding on her Flygon, few places looked remotely habitable, and if anybody survived the onslaught, would are the odds they regard her with anything but warmth? 

Though, again, before she could seek her friends, she’d need to just survive her ordeal at this very moment. Her wounds were rather grotesque, and telltale signs of infection were creeping on her. The area around her shoulder was inflamed upon her peering through the hole that concrete spike had left in her clothes, and Gloria could vaguely remember it aching from her shoulder bag brushing against it. The same could go for her lower leg. She had twisted it so that it laid on its side. Heat pulsed from both regions, and a shaky sigh escaped her lips as she scooted against the overturned dumpster to press her head against it. The cold metal was refreshing against her fever-afflicted skin. 

While she didn’t know how long it’d take for her to properly succumb to her wounds, Gloria hoped her Flygon would at least stay out for as long as it takes to find proper medical care. _I was only out for a day; it wouldn’t kill me that fast, would it?_ Her mother had taught her the dangers of leaving a wound infected, and the fatality of sepsis. While she could confirm she didn’t have sepsis, or at least the telltale signs of it, how would she prevent it any further in a wasteland like this? 

She held on to tidbits of what her mother had told her before she had set off about how to treat an infection if she were to ever have that happen to a wound, fearing that her daughter would have a scuffle with a pokémon. She was right, if one could count that hulking creature Eternatus as a pokémon. Gloria removed her cardigan and was hit with a chill. Her body shuddered, as the only thing between it now and the below temperate climate being the buttoned fuchsia blouse she always loved. 

Whatever would come next would be difficult. She had no antibiotics on her, and clean water would be something difficult to get her hands on. If she didn’t do anything, though, or her Flygon fails to show up in time, the risk of sepsis would be inevitable. 

She instead draped the cardigan back over her shoulders, leaving the chunks of concrete burrowed in to herself to prevent her wounds from bleeding out more than they already have. She was entirely relying on her pokémon to bring her proper medical supplies, if it could recognize them. 

As she sat with her side pressed to the dumpster and her forehead pulsing with the heat she was oblivious to only until she had made it known, she listened to the street outside. The only things she could make out were faint crowing of birds that flew in the distance, the rabid trills of Zigzagoons scuffling in another alley over, and distant rhythmic vibrations in the ground. 

_Wait, what?_ Gloria instantly perked up, holding her hand to the ground to get a better read. Short-paced vibrations shook through the general area in a pattern. She recognized the sound, as it was a very familiar one to her. 

_Rapidash hooves._ She came to the realization. While dread set in, it made her wonder how she was able to pick them up. If she had to guess, Motostoke had seen better days, and the wear and tear from the years it existed likely impacted it more than many of its residents knew; maybe even whatever Eternatus had brought on had loosened the ground. 

Whatever it was, that wasn’t her focus. Her focus was whoever owned that Rapidash and whether they were coming closer. From what Gloria could tell, they were. In fact, the far-off sounds of hooves dancing upon the street were present. It wouldn’t take long before they would pass by the alley she was hiding within, so she didn’t have much time to think before they were upon her. Of course, with her wounds, moving would prove to be painful. She held her damaged leg with one hand and braced herself against the dumpster with another. Pulling her leg inward, she gritted her teeth as a searing pain raced up it and to her chest. 

A wave of dizziness washed over her and she pressed her head against the dumpster once more, fighting off the vertigo while making herself as small as possible. The soft thumps of the Rapidash’s hooves were louder than before, and in the cloudy drear of the day she could see the slight illumination of the equine’s mane bouncing off the wall of a building further down the street. It was a slow advance, with the pokémon moving at a leisurely pace for whatever commanding it to survey the surrounding area. 

The pain in her leg had yet to subside, and her breathing had quickened in both her panic and her pain. Whatever was out in the streets had to be only a few meters from the alley Gloria hid in, and her Flygon had yet to return at all. She reached for her bag once more to retrieve the rest of her pokéballs, hoping that at least one of her stronger pokémon hadn’t been crushed when those two particular pokéballs had. As she reached for the bag, she tried not to move lest she cause further damage to her leg. The pulsating pain was too much to handle, and the smallest pinpricks of tears edged the corners of her eyes. As she managed to grab ahold of the leather strap, she felt her leg slip out from under her as she tipped over from the extreme angle she was in. She released the bag and drew her arm in on instinct, only to land on it awkwardly. Without thinking, she took in a piercing gasp of pain. 

Now laying on her side, Gloria was made eerily aware of the silence in the air. The hooves of the Rapidash were now quiet. Gloria couldn’t do anything but lay there in apprehension. 

Her stomach lurched when the clopping started up again, this time louder than ever. She tried to keep still and look as uninteresting as she possible could, but she knew that’d be for naught when the glow of the equine’s mane illuminated the alley. 

“Wait, hold it,” spoke the trainer of the Rapidash. It was a slight masculine voice, but Gloria couldn’t get a good grasp on it from her sickly haze. A stamp of shoes upon pavement was heard as they disembarked the equine and began to walk down the alley. “What a shitshow, something sure happened here,” the voice piped up once more. It didn’t seem to notice Gloria, not yet. 

The further the person went down the alley, the more she could see them, only until she could make out who they truly were. The bright magenta jacket, the sharp indigo eyes and pale skin, and off-white curls of hair that fell over his forehead. 

They met eyes, and even in her feverish state, one word managed to leave Gloria’s lips, “Bede?”


	3. Treatment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bede tends to Gloria's wounds.

Bede, who Gloria had known for being a posh snarky teen with no intention of ever warming up to her, seemed almost the same as when she had last seen him; when he was interfering with her own business in Wyndon. Yet the stoic glint in his eyes that locked away any other emotions dissolved upon seeing the frail trainer in front of him. The straps of the reigns the Rapidash wore unspooled from his grip and dropped to the ground, but the equine remained where it stood, snorting uneasily at the sight. 

He knelt to get a closer assessment of the situation. In the heat of the moment, he muttered something without realizing it while his hands reached out to lightly prod at the afflicted wound on his rival’s shoulder, “How’d this happen...?” 

“Ah... it’s a long story,” Gloria stated, flinching from both the pain and physical contact. While normally Bede weren’t one for touching others, even in the slightest. 

Yet all of that seemed to not matter right now. Any prior contempt he held for Gloria was gone, at least for now. This was the girl who had pushed him to follow an entirely new path he never realized he had. He nodded in acknowledgement to what she’d said, slight embarrassment crept up the nape of his neck upon realizing he had indeed spoken. Rather than dwelling on that, though, he stood and unstrapped one of the bags from his jacket. Again, he knelt, shuffling in it without a word. There was no use talking now, when Gloria was in no state to even be here. How he had found her before a band of raiders did was impeccable, but it raised a question he had to ask, “How long have you been here?” 

“Half an hour, roughly,” Gloria replied, in no mood to speak much now. She was weary, the fever having worn down on her and the momentary panic further devastating any energy she had left. 

Guess that explains it. 

Bede went silent once more, removing the item he needed from the bag. A first-aid kit. He opened it with a _click_ and searched it for what he would need. If he had to guess, whatever was lodged in to Gloria’s leg and shoulder had been there since the start, but for all he knew, she could’ve suffered through a collapsing building. The only obvious thing was that it was infected. “I won’t have the time to get you somewhere safe, so I must do this here. And I will say this will be painful, not that I have to warn you,” Bede remarked, taking ahold of her leg and seating himself on the ground. He rested her lower leg on his lap, careful to disturb the wound as little as he could. With the first-aid kit beside him, he first took out a bottle of distilled water, only two-thirds of the way full from prior usage, and then disinfecting wipes, using one to clean his hands. He’d hate to have to remove the slab of concrete, but he knew it was necessary. Taking it in his hands, he at first began to slowly free it, but quickened his pace upon hearing Gloria gasp out and her breathing quicken. 

Once the first piece of debris was out, he laid it aside and surveyed the damage, cringing at the sight. It immediately began to bleed, and he was quick to take gauze and unravel it, clumping it against the affected area and watching it flush a deep maroon. He quickly rolled more of it off and pressed it to the wound, both of his hands now clamped down. _How I greatly underestimated this..._ He thought begrudgingly, his eyebrows furrowed as he focused. “On second thought, I won’t be able to fully complete this here,” he said, glancing up to look for any signs of acknowledgement from his patient. 

Gloria’s eyes were squeezed shut, small tears along the ends threatened to roll down her cheeks. Through her pained expression, she nodded. 

Seeing her nod, Bede continued, “So, I’ll have to bring you elsewhere for the day, I guess. But for now, I need to stop the bleeding.” Once the laceration on her leg looked to be about done, he looked through his bag again and removed a spare shirt, a plain tee stained pink after an unfortunate accident with washing it. He took scissors from the first-aid kit and cut the tee, much to the mental pain it put him through. He made horizontal cuts and ended up with two long strips of the polyester material. Holding the wad of gauze down, he wrapped the cloth around the afflicted area, holding it together with tape from the kit. 

Ensuring it was tight enough, he moved to do the same to the wound on Gloria’s shoulder. Conflicting thoughts swarmed him as he contemplated his options. Remove her blouse or cut the portion of it around the wound. Either option would be awkward for the both of them, but he opted for instead cutting the area around the wound. He sat up so that he could comfortably tend to her shoulder, and as he set a hand on her arm, he could feel her muscles tense in apprehension. He cut through the short sleeve and yoke until the scissors reached the collar. When the fabric fell away, he held it to her skin as to not let it fall in to an even more demeaning wardrobe malfunction. 

Bede worked with one hand for a moment, only until Gloria reached up and brushed away the hand holding the hem of her collar in place, holding it down herself now. 

And so, he worked on her shoulder the same way he did was her leg. It was more awkward with the shoulder lacking the flat surface the leg had. 

Once both were patched up and the strips of cloth were wrapped around both wounds securely, Bede turned away from her and opened one of the bags situated on the sides of his jacket. He removed a small orange bottle and twisted the lid off. It was a bottle of painkillers. They were a generic brand, the only ones he could find in a small corner-store pharmacy in Hammerlocke in his haste. He took popped two of the pills in to his open palm and replaced the lid, putting it back in his bag. He took the reins of his Rapidash in preparation to leave, but as he did, he heard a sharp growl. 

Turning towards the sound, Bede discovered it to be Gloria’s Flygon. The dragon had finally returned, in his arms was a bundle of goods wrapped in a bloodied shirt. The pokémon recognized Bede, and the boy’s behavior around Gloria, and was naturally on edge because of it. _Yikes, this might not end well._ Bede thought, taking a step back. He knelt to face Gloria, but as he did the snarl that vibrated in the Flygon’s throat grew in volume, and the bundle of goods fell to the ground as the dragon looked about ready to lunge. 

Before it could, though, Bede’s Rapidash reared up on its hindlegs with a whinny and stamped down on the ground in front of the Flygon, holding off the pokémon and keeping it where it stood. 

Bede felt a twinge of gratitude for his equine. He decided he’d later give it some extra curry to repay it. He handed the painkillers to Gloria, speaking quietly in an urgent tone, “I don’t have water, so you’ll have to dry-swallow these. Make it quick, please, your beast returned.” 

Gloria, after taking the two pills, sat upright with a start. “Beast?” she muttered, only to realize a few moments later what he meant. She held her good arm out to Bede. “Help me up, please,” she said. 

Bede obliged, taking her wrist in his hand and hoisting Gloria to her feet. She wobbled awkwardly, though, as she set her hands on the dumpster to steady herself. 

Gloria looked towards her pokémon. She mustered her voice to yell out to the dragon, “Hey! Chill out, I’m alright!” 

The Flygon reluctantly went along with her word. He picked up the bundle and gave the Rapidash a wide berth, approaching Gloria. He shot Bede a stony gave and shoved past the brightly decorated boy. 

Taking the bundle of goods in her arms, Gloria reached for her side in a semi-automatic movement. Only when she groped at the air did she remember her bag was not draped over her shoulder any longer. Her gaze met her Flygon’s, and she gestured for him to retrieve her bag with a nod of her head. After having her bag retrieved, she put away the bundle of mysteries and took out the pokéball for the dragon. She reached out, and pressed it against the Flygon’s snout, watching him glow red before disappearing in to the ball. Gloria put it away, glad that he had finally returned. 

Bede, arms crossed and foot tapping, regarded Gloria with an unamused expression. Even if some worry was still present in his gut, he was impatient to get her someplace where he knew he’d be able to properly tend to the wounds uninterrupted. There was an uneasy edge to his voice as he spoke, “If you’re finally done, let’s get going; we don’t have time to waste.” 

She nodded, feeling a bit silly that she had kept Bede waiting. When he stepped away from her and hitched himself up on to his Rapidash, he held his hand out to help her up as well. 

When the both of them were on, Gloria held her hands to the flanks of the Rapidash, but found it less than suitable. She instead took her hands and wrapped them around Bede’s waist, the awkward feeling creeping up on her as she felt him flinch and mutter something inaudible under his breath. 

Bede dug a heel in to the equine’s flank, and the two were off. The gallop of the Rapidash’s hooves sent the very same rhythm up through its body. Bede didn’t mind it, the bounce that came with each galloping step, the way his curled hair fell over his face each time. It was just second nature after the few days he had been stranded alone in the wasteland. Of course, now that he had company, things were different. Even if only days had passed, it felt like months. He thought he’d never make any physical contact with another human being until he was assured Opal was alive, but that quickly went out the window now that he had a pair of arms wrapping around him; the arms of his rival, the one person he had held dear contempt for due to her way with finding him where ever he went and interrupting his very classified business, yet seeing her sickly condition in that alley seemed to change something for him. What he thought of as contempt was merely just frustration, and really, he did admire her. 

So that was why he found himself baffled when he heard nothing from her the moment the Darkest Day had swept through the region and turned it in to nothing but a disheartening landscape. He found himself wondering how, how Gloria could have been killed, how such a strong trainer like herself would fall to the beast that terrorized Galar. He saw that strong determination in her to stop it, the gleam in her eyes as she hopped on her Flygon and out of the stadium, Hop in pursuit. 

Hop, Hop didn’t meet the standards of a rival, at least not in Bede’s eyes. His destructive recklessness was not fit for a rival, much less one belonging to Gloria. He tried not to think about it too much, as he’d assume it was a painful topic for the girl clinging to him. He had no idea whether Hop was alive as well, or if anyone he really knew was. He could only assume so. 

Feeling Gloria shift snapped him out of his thoughts, and Bede stole a glance over his shoulder. She seemed cozy and content at the very moment, her head resting wearily on his back, her chest rising and falling in a slow rhythm. She’d carry the fever for a few days, but the worst of it will be over soon enough. Though, the more he recited that last phrase over in his head, the more it seemed false. 

The worst of it would be the healing itself. 

The worst of it would be whether Gloria would be able to walk without a limp, seeing how deep one of the lacerations carved in to her leg. 

He didn’t want to think about it. Instead, Bede focused on his surroundings. The streets of Motostoke began to disappear as the grassy turf overtook it, if he could even call it grassy. It was dead and muddy, scuffed from use and looking overall miserable. He felt his Rapidash slow as they were now headed through Route 3, and he brushed his shoe against its flank as a signal to stop. When the equine halted, he felt Gloria’s arms untangle from his waist as he disembarked. He held her arm as he helped her get off as well, supporting her when she struggled to stand. He surveyed his surroundings as he wove his arm under hers. 

It took no time to find a suitable spot for them to set up for the night, hidden behind a cleft in the rocky terrain. Bede sat Gloria down where she wouldn’t be seen to any travelers, and then he began on the tent. Unpacking the camping gear, he unfolded the tent and drove the metal poles in to the ground to give it shape. 

“Pink, huh? Of course,” piped up Gloria’s voice from a short distance away. There was humor to her voice, despite the exhaustion that hung in it and threatened to overtake her. 

Bede’s face flushed, unsure why the fact embarrassed him. “What did you expect?” he grumbled, only looking over his shoulder at Gloria as to not let his embarrassment be made known. 

Gloria shrugged. “Dunno, just didn’t think you’d go as far as to match your jacket to your tent,” she said, poking fun at Bede’s overly bright jacket. 

The remark didn’t sting, Bede could feel the teasing nature of it but he chose just not to acknowledge what she said, and instead resuming his work on the tent. It was mostly set up now, he just needed to prepare everything inside. 

In the tent, he rolled out a sleeping bag, knowing that Gloria had her own. He set down a folded blanket from his own personal luggage, knowing the frigid temperatures that the night would dip down in to. He backed out of the tent and called to Gloria, helping her stand once more and bringing her in to the tent so he could finish tending the wounds in a cleaner environment. 

Stitching up the lacerations was difficult, as Bede had no experience with sewing, much less sewing skin. The first-aid kit provided a sterilized needle and thread meant to dissolve with time. 

With the painkillers still flowing through Gloria’s veins, Bede went to work on the wounds. He unwrapped them, removing the gauze, and dousing them carefully in the distilled water from earlier. He tried not to break any of the scabbing that had formed from the short while between wrapping them and arriving here. He swabbed the surrounding skin with a bit of alcohol, remembering the way the pediatrician would when he would receive his yearly shots. 

Sewing was much more difficult than he thought, even through the painkillers he noticed Gloria cringe every time the needle stabbed through her skin. He was careful to not cause too much harm, to let the needle slide as smoothly as it could, until he had a pattern of zigzagging stitches closing the wound. He made sure it was tight and held together before he tied off the thread and cut the needle from it. 

He did the same with the one on her shoulder, with a bit more effort as usual. When it was properly sewn, he replaced the cut portion of the yoke of Gloria’s blouse, applying tape to it the best he could as he had no proper thread to sew it with or staples to permanently hold it together. “Sorry about the blouse,” he mumbled, not meeting her eyes. 

Gloria only smiled in her solace, feeling the comfort of the normally sour boy tending to her wounds as if the two had been friends for years. She, seeing only the single sleeping bag, looked to Bede with a confused, yet cheeky, expression. 

Bede scowled at her. “You have your own bag, don’t you?” he snapped, standing up the best he could in the cramped tent before adding another remark, “What idiot would I be to share a bag with you?” 

That stung a bit, only a bit though. Gloria didn’t expect any less from him but was surprised by how fast he reverted to a moody and defensive attitude. She didn’t respond to his question but watched him leave the tent, hobbling out after him and seating herself by the opening to the tent. 

Bede turned to face her, the steely gaze of his wavered with something she couldn’t decipher. He spoke with a false cool, “I guess you’ve gone a few days without eating. I have leftover curry from the night before that I guess I could spare.” He took out a small thermos and set it beside himself, before continuing, “Before that though, I need to gather kindling and firewood. If you think you can help, you can’t.” He went off out of her sight without another word. 

So, that was how things would be. Gloria didn’t mind it though. Instead she only dreaded when her wounds would be healed, and when Bede would evict her from his care. Yet what he said stuck out to her a bit. _A few days? Wasn’t I out for only a day?_ She thought, staring off in to the wilderness where Bede had disappeared in to.


End file.
